DB Woodside

"I was desperately looking for things to do to pass the time... I went to the video store and rented the first season of ’24’ on DVD. I had heard so much about the show from friends and critics. I got so caught up in the show that I watched the entire first season in seven days. I called up my agent and said no matter what it took, I had to be on this show."

— DB Woodside on what first interested him in getting a role on the show 24

David Bryan "DB" Woodside (born July 25, 1969; age 54) is an American actor who played Wayne Palmer during Season 3, Season 5 and Season 6 of 24.

Biography

David Bryan Woodside was born in Queens, New York. He was a football player during high school, but after an injury in his last year, he developed an interest in art and acting. Woodside received a BA from the University of Albany, SUNY. He later graduated from Yale School of Drama M.F.A. program.

Woodside made his television debut in 1996, playing Aaron Mosley in the second season of Murder One. That season also featured other 24 alumni like Tony Perez, Harry Lennix, Gregory Itzin, Glenn Morshower, Missy Crider, Michael Massee, and Peter Onorati. He is also well known to TV audiences as Principal Robin Wood, Buffy's boss and son of a former slayer in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (with Harris Yulin).

Woodside has also starred in The Division (with Jenny Gago and John Cothran Jr.), Once and Again (with Jeffrey Nordling and Ever Carradine), Numb3rs (with Navi Rawat and Peter MacNicol), Lie to Me (with Currie Graham and Tim Guinee), and Hawthorne (with James Morrison and Hector Atreyu Ruiz).

Aside of TV, Woodside has also starred in films like Scar City (with Jalil Jay Lynch), More Dogs Than Bones (with Robin Thomas), Flashpoint (with Billy Burke and Skye McCole Bartusiak), Romeo Must Die (with Edoardo Ballerini), Something More (with Burke again), The Law and Mr. Lee (with Bill Smitrovich), Easy (with Vincent Angell), and First. (with Reiko Aylesworth).

Role on 24

Preparing to memorize a scene while filming Day 3.

Woodside played the role of Wayne Palmer, the younger brother of David Palmer, in 24. He first appeared in Season 3 as President Palmer's Chief of Staff. He returned in Season 5 and 6. In the latter, he was cast as the new President of the United States.

Woodside admitted being a fan of the show moved him to seek a role in it. He said in an interview with The Boston Herald that he came upon the show after a "bad breakup", when he was "desperately looking for things to do to pass the time" and rented the first season DVD.

"I got so caught up in the show that I watched the entire first season in seven days. I called up my agent and said no matter what it took, I had to be on this show."

He said that he didn't know much about the character, but that executive producer and creator Joel Surnow approached him the first day of shooting and told him "Your character is a good guy, but he's a motherf**ker". As a result, Woodside describes Palmer as "a political animal, relentless at what he'll do to be successful".

Palmer returned in Season 5, where he was frequently teamed up with Jack Bauer as they sought to bring the murderers of his brother to justice. Woodside said that shooting action scenes for the show was "fantastic" and "incredible". Woodside only appeared in 7 episodes of the season. He said that although they wanted to bring him back, he was already committed to another show.

For Season 6, Woodside's character was made President of the United States. When asked about the "promotion" of his character in an interview with IGN, Woodside commented:

"In the beginning I thought that was great. I found out like last April or May. I think that I wish that the writers and the creator had kind of stuck with the character that we had created in the previous two seasons. I thought a little bit like they were almost giving me a new character at the beginning of this year, simply because he was president. I think that they were probably somewhat nervous, and to be candid, it didn’t work. And I think that as writers they know that — as an actor, I sure as hell knew that — and that both of us kind of dug an impossible hole that the writers and myself spent a good part of the year trying to climb out of. I think unfortunately, for most of the season, it was... I don’t think it was bad, I just think it was disappointing. But I do think that the last three episodes that Wayne Palmer was in, before he went down for the final time, they went back to the Wayne Palmer that people know, the Wayne Palmer that people love; the fighter. The guy who’s scrappy. The guy who can be intimidating and is somewhat volatile. I just wish they had started off the season with that guy. I think it would have been a lot more interesting to see what he would have done as president, versus almost like it was a brand new character, and the writing kind of had him being somewhat nervous and unsure of himself. Any true fan of 24 that watched Season 3 or Season 5 knows that Wayne Palmer is not that way. So I think that’s what was a little kind of troublesome for a lot of people this year, on the president side, but we did the best we could."

Woodside appeared in a total of 48 episodes, and was credited as a guest star.

24 credits

• Season 3 (all episodes)
• Season 5
  • "Day 5: 7:00am-8:00am"
  • "Day 5: 8:00am-9:00am"
  • "Day 5: 8:00pm-9:00pm"
  • "Day 5: 9:00pm-10:00pm"
  • "Day 5: 10:00pm-11:00pm"
  • "Day 5: 11:00pm-12:00am"
  • "Day 5: 12:00am-1:00am"
• Season 6
  • "Day 6: 6:00am-7:00am"
  • "Day 6: 7:00am-8:00am"
  • "Day 6: 8:00am-9:00am"
  • "Day 6: 9:00am-10:00am"
  • "Day 6: 10:00am-11:00am"
  • "Day 6: 11:00am-12:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 12:00pm-1:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 1:00pm-2:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 2:00pm-3:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 3:00pm-4:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 4:00pm-5:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 5:00pm-6:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 7:00pm-8:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 8:00pm-9:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 9:00pm-10:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 10:00pm-11:00pm"
  • "Day 6: 11:00pm-12:00am"

24-related appearances

• Master Illusionists: 24's Special Effects Make-Up, Season 6 DVD

Selected filmography

• Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (2015)
• Easy (2003)
• Something More (2003)
• Romeo Must Die (2000)
• Scar City (1998)

Television appearances

• Lucifer (2015-2019)
• Suits (2014-2018)
• Single Ladies (2011-2014)
• Viva Laughlin! (2007)
• JAG (2004)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2004)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002-2003)
• CSI: Miami (2002)
• Once and Again (2002)
• The Division (1999)
• The Practice (1997)
• Murder One (1996)

External links

• DB Woodside at Wikipedia
• DB Woodside at the Internet Movie Database
• DB Woodside (@dbwofficial) on Twitter
• DB Woodside (@dbwofficial) on Instagram